Borderlands 2 - Hands-on @ RPS, Destructoid

For this hands-on event, which would take place through two quite different sections of the game, we hit the ground running at level 20, with a wealth of skills and weapons available to us. Having spent some points and headed into the first map’s landscape – a sort of rocky grasslands military complex in which weird creatures were imprisoned – to fight outlandish beasts. While the mutant-mouthed skag things from the original game made a prompt return, we were also immediately inundated with a swarm of all-new flying, leaping, stealthing waves of alien unhelpfuls. Carving our way through this vibrant bunch revealed a much colourful palette this time around; both literally in terms of the colours used, but also in the range of imaginative plots enemies are now endowed with. But we’ll come back to that in a moment.

While there is a bigger emphasis on story in Borderlands 2, don't expect it all to unfold in a barrage of cutscenes; you'll still be fed information on the fly more often than not, but it will be more fleshed out than usual. Some of the missions also offer varying paths and endings. Senior level designer Zack Ford said there will be times where ending a quest at one point as opposed to another will offer a different result.